Wike commutes 32 death sentences to life imprisonment As Obaseki releases 70 prisoners
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike yesterday commuted 32 death sentences to life imprisonment as part of the 57th Independence Celebration.
The governor who also paid the fines for 19 convicts to regain their freedom, approved the unconditional release of 32 convicts from prison and granted free pardon to three convicts.
The governor in an independence day address at the Sharks Stadium in Port Harcourt, said Nigerians must unite behind the national flag, setting aside the narrative of division, violence and hate and replace them with the narrative of peace and unity .
He said, “After nearly 18 unbroken years of democracy and despite positive assertions to the contrary, our democracy keeps floundering under the watch of the Federal Government just as the vast majority of Nigerians are alienated from the State and estranged from the development process and denied the dividends of democracy. If economic progress is the test of our democracy then we have woefully failed as a nation.”
In Edo State, and also as part of activities marking the 57th independence anniversary of Nigeria, Governor Godwin Obaseki approved the release of 70 inmates from various prisons across the state.
He said the 70 inmates had been in prison for a considerable period of time, some of them not less than two years, without trial.
Obaseki gave the approval in Benin during a church service at Christ Embassy yesterday to mark the independence anniversary in the state.
He said the step was aimed at improving the justice delivery system in the state as well as reducing the number of awaiting-trial inmates, which is part of Federal Government’s policy on prison decongestion.
Obaseki said Nigerians had all accepted that Nigeria is one indivisible nation, adding that the ongoing conversation on restructuring would not divide the nation, but rather enhance its growth and prosperity.
In Anambra State, Governor Willie Obiano yesterday commuted the jail sentences of eight prisoners on death row to life imprisonment, saying some of the prisoners had spent 18 years in prison.
He reduced the sentences of 12 to various jail terms, and granted absolute pardon to some others.
Speaking during a church service at Saint Matthew’s Catholic Church, Akpu in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, Obiano said the gesture was in the exercise of his powers on prerogative of mercy on such occasions, and that the health and mental conditions of the prisoners were factored in to grant the pardon.